Biography for
Ann Dvorak More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

2 August 1912, New York City, New York, USA

Date of Death

10 December 1979, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Birth Name

Anna McKim

Height

5' 4½" (1.64 m)

Mini Biography

Ann Dvorak was the daughter of silent film star Anna Lehr. She entered films at the start of sound, as a dance instructor for the lavish MGM musicals. She came to international prominence in Scarface (1932) with Paul Muni, but often complained about the lack of quality of her films, which led to arguments with her bosses at Warners. She married British actor Leslie Fenton in 1932, and came to Britain to make a few films. She contributed to the British war effort driving an ambulance. She retired from the screen in 1951, and died in 1979.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Robert Jervis-Gibbons

Spouse

Nicholas Wade	(1951 - 1977) (his death)
Igor Dega	(7 August 1947 - 1951) (divorced)
Leslie Fenton	(18 March 1932 - 1945) (divorced)

Trivia

Direct descendant of US Vice President Calhoun (1825-32)

Daughter of actress Anna Lehr and Biograph director/actor Sammy McKim.

Attempted to have her Warner Brothers contract terminated over financial issues, after finding out that she made the same money as the five-year-old who played her son in Three on a Match (1932).

She was an avid bibliophile and had a large and valuable collection of first editions dating back to 1703.

A dispute over salary had Warner Bros putting her in bad pictures or standard roles. She later moved to England.

Her friend Joan Crawford was the one who introduced her to Howard Hughes, who in turn was looking for a girl for his production of Scarface (1932). She made $250 a week.

Her parents divorced when she was 8. She did not hear from her father after that for fourteen years, when she put out a letter in 1934 asking for information leading to his whereabouts. Six other men responded claiming to be her father before he did. He was living in Philadelphia at the time and had no idea she was in the movies.

Attended St. Catherine's Convent in Manhattan when young, but later was enrolled at the Page School for Girls in Los Angeles.

She had no children.

Profiled in "Killer Tomatoes: Fifteen Tough Film Dames" by Ray Hagen and Laura Wagner (McFarland, 2004).

Personal Quotes

[when asked how her last name is pronounced] My name is properly pronounced "vor'shack." The D remains silent. I have had quite a time with the name, having been called practically everything from Balzac to Bickelsrock.

Salary

Three on a Match (1932)	$250/week
The Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929)	$37.50

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